WineProNZ 2026 Conference Speakers
Dr Amanda Dupas de Matos
Senior Research Officer - Food Experience & Sensory Testing, Feast Lab
Dr Amanda Dupas is a Senior Researcher at Massey University’s Feast Laboratory.
She advances sensory-consumer science to create innovative and sustainable solutions that enhance flavour and add value to agrifood and wine sectors in NZ.
Her research links sensory and chemical properties to consumer preferences and emotional responses, to support product innovation, sustainability, and market growth.
Session
New Product and Taste Development in Beer, Wine and Adjacent products
Tuesday: 3pm – 4pm
Room 1
Dr Aaron Low
Chief Technical Officer
amaea Wine Filtration & Fining Solutions
Dr Aaron Low is a chemical and materials engineer focused on process innovation and molecular filtration. His work has helped drive the development of advanced materials and process technologies in the wine filtration space. A passionate commercial innovator, Aaron bridges the gap between research and scalable deployment.
From Process to Performance: Improving Efficiency and Quality Together
Tuesday: 1pm – 2pm
Room 2
Damian Martin
Viticulture & Oenology Group Leader
Bioeconomy Science Institute
Damian Martin holds a PhD in Oenology and Viticultural Science from the University of Bordeaux, France, where his doctoral research focused on the effects of soil moisture on grape and wine quality attributes. Following his PhD, Damian built a 14-year professional career in the New Zealand wine sector. This included developing and managing one of New Zealand’s largest single vineyards, as well as holding senior management, technical, and operational roles within leading wine companies. In these positions, he oversaw large scale viticulture and wine production for both ultra-premium and value wine segments.
Damian has also contributed significantly to advancing New Zealand’s grape and wine research efforts. He served as a longstanding member of the New Zealand Winegrowers Research Committee and, more recently, as a research leader. His expertise and oversight spans grapevine ecophysiology, the influence of viticultural and winemaking inputs on wine quality attributes, and the application of digital technologies in viticulture.
From Data to Decisions – Turning Climate Research and Intelligence into Vineyard Action
Wednesday: 3pm – 4pm
Room 2
Dave Scullin
Chief Digital Officer, Zespri Limited
Dave joined Zespri in October 2019. He and his team are at the heart of Zespri’s digital transformation – simplifying business processes and using real-time data to drive decision making. Dave is a firm believer that any sort of digital change or transformation is about enabling business strategy and solving business problems.
Strategy, Structure, and Scale: The Zespri Experience
Thursday: 12:30pm – 1:30pm
Room 1
Ed Chapman Cohen
Director, Remac Consulting
Ed Chapman-Cohen is a Director of Remac Consulting, specialising in RMA planning and regulatory strategy, with a strong rural and viticultural focus. With 20 years’ experience, he advises businesses and landowners through complex consenting processes, enabling practical, commercially grounded decisions on land use and development in a changing regulatory environment.
Dealing With The Now
Tuesday: 1pm – 2pm
Room 1
Garry Peek
Founder & Director, Peek Robotics
Garry Peek is the founder and director of Peek Robotics, a New Zealand company based in Lower Hutt.
Raised on a dairy farm in the Waikato, Garry originally trained as an electrical engineer.
He worked for Phillips both domestically and internationally before returning to New Zealand where he trained himself in Software Development, eventually starting his first business Radium.
Radium specialises in transaction processing with over three billion dollars processed each year through its integrations and applications.
During Covid, he ventured into his third business venture, Peek Robotics, which specialises in outdoor automation for vineyards and orchards in New Zealand.
Garry and the team at Peek Robotics have developed extensive expertise in automation, both in terms of the challenges and the opportunities this presents for the wine industry in New Zealand.
Reducing Diesel & Labour: Powering a Smarter Vineyard
Wednesday: 1pm – 2pm
Room 1
Hadley Hayward
Registered Valuer & Shareholding Partner, Alexander Hayward
Hadley is a Registered Valuer and partner at Alexander Hayward. Specialising in viticulture, he combines valuation expertise with hands on vineyard development experience and advises major banks, corporates, and private clients.
The Vineyard Property Market: Where To From Here?
Thursday: 11am – 12pm
Room 1
Jane Hunter
Owner, Hunter's Wines
Jane Hunter is the pioneering owner of Hunter’s Wines, which she founded in 1979. Raised on a South Australian vineyard and trained in Agricultural Science, she has become one of the wine industry’s most respected figures, earning honours including an OBE, Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit, IWSC Woman in Wine, and induction into the New Zealand Business Hall of Fame.
Shared Knowledge, Shared Future: Is collaboration still at the heart of the wine industry?
Tuesday: 3pm – 4pm
Room 2
John Wilson
JPEW Limited Director
The planting of vines in Marlborough had a significant influence on John’s career. When growing up in Marlborough he witnessed the emergence of NZ wine, its growing international reputation, and the positive impact on the local community. As a Chartered Accountant, he decided to trust his instinct and develop a career in the wine industry.
This led to many senior management roles from the 28 years of wine industry experience. Including experience working in Australia, USA, and New Zealand. John has a depth of knowledge in sales, marketing, financial planning and analysis, operations finance, strategic planning, sales and operations planning, and business integration.
Due to his broad range of FMCG experience, he believes that the alignment of key business functions, through planning and collaboration, are key ingredients to optimise financial success.
Do you really know your vineyard numbers – and the forces shaping them?
Wednesday: 11am – 12pm
Room 1
Margin Analysis:
How Do I Know I am Selling my Product for
the Maximum Value Possible?
Wednesday: 1pm – 2pm
Room 2
Lan Zhang
Winemaker, Vinarchy
Lan Zhang is a Marlborough-based Winemaker at Vinarchy with hands-on experience across vineyards, wineries, and cellar doors. Runner-up in the 2025 Marlborough Young Winemaker, she brings strong technical and practical expertise to modern New Zealand winemaking.
Shared Knowledge, Shared Future: Is collaboration still at the heart of the wine industry?
Tuesday: 3pm – 4pm
Room 2
Nigel Sowman
Viticulturist, Dog Point Vineyards
Nigel Sowman is Marlborough born viticulturist with over 25 years’ experience in Marlborough vineyards, 24 of which as viticulturist at Dog Point Vineyards, New Zealand’s largest organic vineyard.
Actively engaged within in the industry on boards and committees, and now in a role with Riversun Nursery, he brings scope and knowledge of the viticultural landscape shaping this region and country
Shared Knowledge, Shared Future: Is collaboration still at the heart of the wine industry?
Tuesday: 3pm – 4pm
Room 2
Marcus Wickham
CEO, Ormond Nurseries
Marcus Wickham is a respected figure in New Zealand’s wine industry. A former Young Viticulturist of the Year (2006), he has led vineyard development across Central Otago, Waipara and Marlborough. Co-creator of the Klima cane pruner, he now serves as CEO of Ormond Nurseries, supporting growers through innovation and expertise.
Dealing With The Now
Tuesday: 1pm – 2pm
Room 1
Matt Mitchell
General Manager, Winery
With an honours degree in Food Technology and a graduate diploma in winemaking, after more than 35 years involved in making wine, Matt says the process still fascinates him. He manages the day to day running both Marisco winery sites supported by Senior Winemaker Jeremy Brown and his team.
Are we Shipping Away Margin by Bottling Offshore?
Wednesday: 12:30pm – 1:30pm
Room 2
Mike Insley
Director, Grapesense NZ
Director of Grapesense NZ, a Marlborough based vineyard, viticulture and wine industry consultancy. Mike draws on over 35 years of large scale vineyard, technical viticulture & grape supply management and wide industry experience, both nationally and internationally (USA, China).
Do you really know your vineyard numbers – and the forces shaping them?
Wednesday: 11am – 12pm
Room 1
Mike Poff
Property Broker
Mike Poff brings a proven and unique blend of property, viticulture, and commercial expertise to real estate. Specialising in premium property, business sales, and leases, Mike is a trusted advisor known for connecting the right people with the right opportunities.
Mike’s in-depth understanding of property and business stems from a diverse career that spans hospitality, liquor retail, marketing, winemaking, and vineyard operations. He has worked with some of the industry’s most respected names, including Giesen, Craggy Range, Mud House and Villa Maria building a wide-reaching network of industry professionals and investors. Having lived in Marlborough for 20+ years, Mike knows the region, its land, its people, and its potential. He is particularly passionate about helping family-owned businesses plan for the future, providing support during key transitions and growth phases.
The Vineyard Property Market: Where To From Here?
Thursday: 11am – 12pm
Room 1
Morven McAuley
Founder & Director, Tradecraft
A brand visionary and sales and marketing strategist with over 20 years experience in the wine industry, and the deep connections that come with it. Morven originally trained as a goldsmith, working overseas before returning home where she worked in the family wine business in Central Otago.
Morven is the founder and director of Tradecraft — an agency that has enjoyed over a decade of strategy project work for some New Zealand’s leading wine brands. Before this, she worked selling wine to top accounts in Auckland with Negociants NZ, and global marketing manager at Antipodes Water Co, as well as working on consumer communications for Montana Wines. She is passionate about seeing New Zealand’s producers thrive and find their place in the hands of keen epicureans across Aotearoa and the world
Getting to Market vs. Getting Bought
Wednesday: 11am – 12pm
Room 2
Your customers have changed – has your Digital Strategy?
Wednesday: 3pm – 4pm
Room 1
Dr Peter Bircham
Head of Research & Development, Garage Project Associate Research Fellow, Victoria University of Wellington
Working at the intersection of academic and industry research, Peter specialises in developing novel yeast strains and fermentation approaches using non-GMO methods, with a particular focus on flavour innovation, low- and no-alcohol beverages, and emerging fermentation technologies.
At Garage Project, Peter leads research spanning yeast biotechnology, hop science, and new product development across beer and beer-adjacent drinks categories. His work includes collaborations through the Hāpi hop research programme, exploring New Zealand hop aroma chemistry, thiol-driven flavour expression, and brewing approaches that maximise hop impact in finished products.
Getting to Market vs. Getting Bought
Wednesday: 11am – 12pm
Room 2
Peter Crowe
Chief Executive Officer, WineWorks Group
Peter Crowe is Chief Executive Officer of WineWorks Group, New Zealand’s leading contract wine bottling company, with operations across Marlborough, Hawke’s Bay and Auckland.
He brings deep experience in wine production, logistics and value‑chain strategy, with a strong focus on quality, provenance, and long‑term industry sustainability.
Are we Shipping Away Quality and Margin by bottling offshore?
Thursday: 12:30pm – 1:30pm
Room 2
Pete Taylor
Founder & Director, Auxein
Pete Taylor is the Founder and Director of Auxein, a New Zealand company on a mission to lead the global wine industry toward a resilient and sustainable future. Auxein translates data to insight, and builds software and decision-support tools for growers and wineries. This includes the free Regional Insights platform which covers New Zealand’s viticultural regions, and Auxein Grow, a commercial vineyard management system used by independent growers and corporate wine companies. Auxein’s work spans viticulture, wine production, sustainability and climate analysis.
Based in Christchurch, Pete holds a BSc and a Master of Wine and Viticulture from Lincoln University, a Master of Water Resource Management from the University of Canterbury, and is a CMS-Certified Sommelier. His earlier career in financial-sector risk modelling has helped shape Auxein’s approach to long term planning, risk and scenario analysis, and the impact of climate change on company strategy.
From Data to Decisions – Turning Climate Research and Intelligence into Vineyard Action
Wednesday: 3pm – 4pm
Room 2
Rod Smith
Managing Director of Engagement Group
Rod Smith brings over two decades of leadership driving retail excellence across New Zealand. With a background at The Warehouse, he partners with leading FMCG, Big-box, tech, hardware, pharmacy and liquor brands to elevate in-store execution, boost visibility, ensure compliance and ultimately convert presence into measurable sales growth
Getting to Market vs Getting Bought
Wednesday: 11am -12pm
Room 2
Terry Copeland
Programme Director Export Growth at MPI
Terry Copeland joined MPI in September 2025 as Programme Director Export Growth to support sector strategies in delivering double export value by 2034. Previously, Terry was CEO at Federated for 7 years and CEO of NZ Young Farmers for 5 years before that, after a 25-year wine industry career including being an international wine judge.
MPI – Double Export Value – Closing the Gap to 2034
Tuesday: 11am -12pm
Room 1
Tim Rose
Director, Rose Ag
Tim Rose has been actively involved in Rose Ag since 2018. Rose Ag has significant vineyards holdings in Marlborough and specialises in vineyard redevelopments.
A registered valuer by background, he spent 14 years in Dubai leading a real estate fund. He now combines governance roles, including NZ Winegrowers Board, with various advisory work.
Dealing With the Now
Tuesday: 1pm – 2pm
Room 1
John Wilson
JPEW
Thursday: 10.30am and 12noon
NZ Wine Industry Overview & Challenging Landscape of NZ Wine – Q&A